Written Answers

Wednesday 31 May 2000

Scottish Executive

Adoption

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to change adoption laws in Scotland.

Peter Peacock: I would refer Ms Marwick to the answer I gave to question S1W-5426.

Bankruptcy

David McLetchie (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to introduce legislation to change the laws relating to bankruptcy in Scotland.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Executive has no immediate plans to introduce changes to the laws relating to bankruptcy in Scotland. However, it is still considering the outcome of consultation carried out by the Scottish Office in July 1997 and September 1998 on detailed aspects of the law of personal bankruptcy. In addition, research will shortly be commissioned on the impact of bankruptcy on sole traders and small businesses. Together these studies may in due course lead to legislative proposals.

Caledonian MacBrayne

Mr Duncan Hamilton (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will place all Scottish Office and Scottish Executive research papers on Caledonian MacBrayne in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.

Sarah Boyack: Scottish Executive research papers on Caledonian MacBrayne are normally placed in SPICe, except in those cases where disclosure would, under the terms of the exemptions in the Code of Practice on Access to Scottish Executive Information, harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion.

Cape Wrath Bombing Range

Colin Campbell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has been involved in consultations on the environmental effect of the shelling of the Cape Wrath range by the United States Navy.

Sarah Boyack: I refer Mr Campbell to the oral answer given to Dorothy-Grace Elder on Thursday 16 March ( Official Report, column 788).

Community Care

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what provision will be made for people with disabilities in the east end area of Glasgow following the closure of the Easterhill day centre in Baillieston.

Iain Gray: That is a matter for Glasgow City Council.

Crime Prevention

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much each pound it spends on neighbourhood watch and similar crime prevention methods saves the criminal justice system.

Angus MacKay: I refer you to my answer of 11 February 2000 about Scottish Executive support for Neighbourhood Watch and other initiatives. Many of the major crime prevention initiatives undertaken by the Scottish Executive are evaluated for their effectiveness. However, some benefits are indirect and others may take several years to feed through to making a direct impact on other parts of the criminal justice system.

Dyspraxia

Mr Duncan Hamilton (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1O-874 by Mr Sam Galbraith on 16 December 1999, how much funding available from the budget for in-service special educational needs staff development for dealing with dyspraxia.

Mr Sam Galbraith: The Scottish Executive funding of £5 million for local authority in-service special educational needs staff development and training is for all aspects of special educational needs. It is for local authorities to determine how the money should be allocated in light of local circumstances.

Education

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what regulations are in place to govern the promotion of courses in behavioural management techniques.

Mr Sam Galbraith: None.

Education

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many children were excluded from school in each of the last ten years in the North East of Scotland.

Peter Peacock: Education authorities were requested to provide returns on numbers of exclusions from the beginning of the 1998-99 school session. That is, therefore, the only year for which we currently have figures.

  Across the Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire areas, temporary exclusions in primary schools, across all stages, averaged 11 half days for each 100 pupils. Temporary exclusions in secondary schools, across all stages except S6, averaged 71 half days for each 100 pupils. The numbers of pupils removed from the register (permanent exclusions) across the same areas totalled three in primary schools and 28 in secondary schools.

Environment

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will investigate the activities of Scottish National Heritage (SNH) regarding the proposed designation of Sites of Special Scientific Interest on Berneray, with particular regard to the duties of SNH to take into account under the National Heritage (Scotland) Act 1991 the interests of communities and social and economic development.

Sarah Boyack: No. The designation of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) is the responsibility of SNH, which has a statutory duty under section 28 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to notify land which, in its opinion, is of special scientific interest.

  Under the 1991 Act, in exercising its functions, SNH has a duty to take "such account as may be appropriate" of the interests of local communities and the need for social and economic development. However, where SNH is notifying an area of land as an SSSI and the scientific case for that land has been established, it is appropriate that SNH take no account of other factors.

  I am currently considering what future changes to the SSSI system may be desirable to ensure that we secure the protection of the natural heritage in a way which is effective and which takes account of communities’ views.

European Funding

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what impact section 94 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 has on local authorities obtaining additional funding from the European Union.

Mr Jack McConnell: Local authorities provide match funding from within their overall section 94 resources to access capital grants from the European Union. On receipt, the grants automatically enhance a local authority’s section 94 capital allocation.

Fire Service

Kate MacLean (Dundee West) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has for further investigation of the actions of Tayside Fire Brigade in connection with the fire at 13 Cardean, Dundee on 26 November 1997.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked HM Chief Inspector of Fire Services for Scotland, Mr Dennis Davis, to undertake an investigation with the following terms of reference:

  to review the handling by Tayside Fire Brigade of the incident at 13 Cardean Street, Dundee, on the night of 26 November 1997, taking into account previous inquiries and reports which are relevant to this;

  to consider the operational and other issues arising;

  to assess the extent to which any operational and other deficiencies have been remedied; and

  to make recommendations.

  Mr Davis will begin his investigation on 5 June and expects to be able to complete it in time for his report to be published during September.

  I hope that the outcome of this investigation will enable all concerned to feel that all aspects of this tragic event and its aftermath have been thoroughly explored, and that action to avoid repetition of such events has been taken or put in hand.

Flood Prevention

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it administers any funds for which local authorities or community groups can apply to assist with the costs of flood prevention schemes and, if so, how access can be obtained to details of the application process.

Sarah Boyack: The Executive administers a flood prevention grant scheme, under which local authorities can apply for grant towards the cost of constructing flood prevention schemes, confirmed under the Flood Prevention (Scotland) Act, for the prevention of flooding of non-agricultural land. Local authorities should be aware of the availability of grant for flood prevention schemes, information on which is available from the Environment Group of the Rural Affairs Department.

  There is no scheme whereby assistance is available to community groups.

Flood Prevention

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any sources of funding available to local authorities or community groups to pilot novel methods of flood prevention in their localities.

Sarah Boyack: Executive funding for flood prevention, in the form of grant, is available to local authorities for confirmed flood prevention schemes. The Executive will consider funding novel methods of flood prevention that local authorities have incorporated in schemes that Scottish Ministers have confirmed.

Freight

John Scott (Ayr) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will outline the phasing of Freight Facility Grant payments recently announced for Ayr Harbour, identify each component of the total investment and indicate a timescale for implementation and payment.

Sarah Boyack: The £4.4 million Freight Facilities Grant awarded to Associated British Ports will be applied over five years (2000-05). A detailed breakdown of the costs of individual elements of the project is commercially confidential.

Genetically Modified Organisms

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-4878 by Susan Deacon on 2 May 2000, whether it will provide details of any representations it has made to the European Community, the European Parliament or the European Union relating to genetically modified organisms during the last six months.

Susan Deacon: Relations with EU institutions are a reserved matter, responsibility for which lies with the UK Government. Representations to the EU institutions on issues such as GMOs are made on the basis of a common UK line which is developed with the full involvement of the devolved administrations.

Health

Margaret Jamieson (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether cases can be referred directly to orthoptists within the health service without having to go through general practitioners.

Susan Deacon: Local practices regarding referral arrangements will vary and may be subject to relevant local protocols.

  The Statement of Conduct issued by the Orthoptists Board at the Council for Professions Supplementary to Medicine states "An orthoptist shall communicate and co-operate with registered medical or dental practitioners in management of patients. It is desirable that an orthoptist should not undertake treatment of a patient unless he/she has the approval of a registered medical or dental practitioner.".

Homelessness

Mr Michael McMahon (Hamilton North and Bellshill) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether a decision has been reached on the allocation of Rough Sleeper Initiative funding to Glasgow and Edinburgh following the most recent round of bids for funds.

Ms Wendy Alexander: Further to my answer of 23 February, I am today announcing the allocation of £5.26 million to Edinburgh for the immediate provision of interim direct access facilities for people who are presently sleeping rough in Edinburgh, for the development of a new reception and direct access facility, for the provision of services for rough sleepers who have complex health and addiction support needs and (as announced in February) to continue funding current RSI projects.

  I have also allocated funds to Glasgow to allow for all currently funded RSI projects to continue until March 2001 with provision for their further extension, in the light of a developing strategy for Glasgow; to move people out of hostels into supported accommodation and to improve services in the hostels as recommended by the Glasgow Review Team. I am awarding £10 million to Glasgow of which £5 million is for immediately identified needs, with a further £3 million reserved to fund proposals arising from the outcome of the current review being carried out into street homelessness in Glasgow. In addition I am making a further £2 million available to be used to provide added impetus to the work of the Glasgow Review Team in this financial year. I plan to make a further announcement about resources to tackle the problems of rough sleeping on Thursday 1 June.

Housing

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when Glasgow City Council tenants whose homes are to be demolished following the proposed stock transfer are to be informed that their home is excluded from the list of those to be modernised.

Ms Wendy Alexander: Tenants will be fully involved in the preparation of any proposal for transfer of Glasgow’s housing into community ownership, including decisions about future investment and demolition programmes. A transfer will take place only if a majority of tenants vote for it.

Housing

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what recruitment process will be used to appoint staff to the proposed Glasgow Housing Association.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The recruitment of staff is a matter for the Interim Management Committee of the Glasgow Housing Association which has now been established.

Housing

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive with which lenders it has had negotiations regarding the proposed Glasgow Housing Association.

Ms Wendy Alexander: Informal discussions were held with a number of lenders during the preparation of the framework document published on 10 April. These included Bank of Scotland, Royal Bank of Scotland, Halifax plc, Nationwide Building Society and the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

Housing

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what reservations about the future of multi-storey flats have been expressed to them by lenders with regard to the proposed establishment of the Glasgow Housing Association.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The framework document published on 10 April makes clear that funders will wish to see in place a financial model and cost benefit framework that allows all investment decisions, including those relating to multi-storey flats, to be appraised rigorously. Tenants will be fully involved in these investment decisions.

Housing

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which tenants’ organisations have written to it expressing support for wholesale stock transfer.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The New Housing Partnership funding framework including support for wholesale stock transfers was in place when this administration came to power. The general objectives of the policy are unchanged and so we have not canvassed further views from organisations or individuals. Where a council decides to develop a transfer proposal all the parties involved will have every opportunity to make their views known in the course of the consultation process and a transfer will not proceed without the support of tenants.

Housing

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what role it will have in the appointment of board members of the proposed Glasgow Housing Association.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The framework document published on 10 April set out the composition of the Interim Management Committee of the Glasgow Housing Association, and listed the organisations invited to nominate representatives to it. The document was agreed by the members of the Glasgow Steering Group, which included the Executive.

Housing

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what role it will have in the appointment of a chief executive for the proposed Glasgow Housing Association.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The appointment of a chief executive is a matter for the Interim Management Committee of the Glasgow Housing Association which has now been established.

Housing

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it last met the representatives of the workforce in Glasgow City Council Housing department and the Glasgow City Council Direct Labour Organisation.

Ms Wendy Alexander: I met with representatives from the STUC and Glasgow’s Joint Trades Union Committee on 6 April, prior to the publication of the framework document on 10 April.

Housing

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what response it will give to the statement in the Ernst & Young report, Better Homes, Stronger Communities: A Report on the Key Financial Issues , that stretching the capital investment programme in the Glasgow housing stock transfer over a longer number of years might delay repair to windows and other outstanding maintenance work.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The report indicated that if the cladding and window replacement programme took place over 10 years rather than six, the new landlord’s borrowing requirement would be reduced by £79 million. This was presented as an illustration of the factors which could influence the scale of the borrowing requirement.

Housing

Mr Mike Rumbles (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what was the total value of public sector tenants’ right to buy discounts in 1997-98, 1998-99 and 1999-2000.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The information available is set out below. The figures include local authority and Scottish Homes right to buy, rent to mortgage and voluntary sales, all of which were made under the right to buy legislation. Figures for 1999-2000 are not yet available.

  


Total value of 
public sector Right to Buy discounts (£)







1997-98


1998-991




Scotland


299,496,472 


258,632,309 




  Notes:

  1. Excludes 91 sales for 1998-99 for which details of the discount are not yet known.

Housing

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the £79 million invested by Scottish Homes in Glasgow and North Clyde is being spent in (a) Glasgow and (b) Glasgow Kelvin.

Ms Wendy Alexander: In 2000-01 Scottish Homes' Glasgow and North Clyde Region plans to spend (a) £65 million in the city of Glasgow as a whole and (b) £4 million in Glasgow Kelvin.

Housing

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many of the 1,300 new build Scottish Homes properties for social rent in Glasgow and North Clyde will be located in the Glasgow Kelvin constituency.

Ms Wendy Alexander: Scottish Homes plans to approve 1,300 new and improved homes for social rent in Glasgow and North Clyde Region during 2000-01. Eighty-five of these homes will be in Glasgow Kelvin.

Housing

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the £51 million private sector funding attracted by Scottish Homes to Glasgow and North Clyde will be invested in the Glasgow Kelvin constituency.

Ms Wendy Alexander: On current plans, of the £51 million of private sector funding which Scottish Homes' Glasgow and North Clyde Region aims to attract during 2000-01, £2.275 million will be invested in Glasgow Kelvin.

Housing

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the £8 million Scottish Homes funding to upgrade tenements and provide new homes at inner city gap sites will be spent in the Glasgow Kelvin constituency.

Ms Wendy Alexander: Of the £8 million allocated by Scottish Homes in 2000-01 to upgrade tenements and provide new homes at inner city gap sites in Glasgow, £4 million will be spent in Glasgow Kelvin.

Housing

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will report on its consultation on right to buy by housing association tenants and in particular on any identified specific problems arising in Partick.

Ms Wendy Alexander: I have received many views in relation to our proposals for a single social tenancy incorporating a modernised right to buy. I am aware of the position of Partick Housing Association and will consider how their particular circumstances can be reflected in our final proposals to be announced early in the summer.

Justice

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will formulate legislation to ensure that the act of shaking an infant to its injury results in mandatory charges of attempted murder and not lesser charges in recognition of the extreme frailty of babies.

Mr Jim Wallace: No; we prefer the flexibility of existing Scots common law   to a rigid statutory formula. This allows each case to be assessed on its individual merits. It also recognises that the charge of attempted murder is appropriate to deal with attacks where, had the victim died, the offence would have been murder. This may be relevant where an infant has been shaken to its injury, but it is for the Lord Advocate to determine when in an individual case such charges are warranted.

Justice

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will conduct a full and independent review of the fingerprint work of the Scottish Criminal Records Office.

Mr Jim Wallace: Following the original expressions of concern about the integrity of the fingerprint system in Scotland, HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary was invited to undertake an inspection of the acquisition, examination and presentation of fingerprint evidence including a review of the training, skills and quality assurance aspects of the fingerprint operation at the Scottish Criminal Record Office. This inspection is still ongoing.

Justice

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will conduct a full and independent review of the actions of Strathclyde Police and the Scottish Criminal Records Office in the case of Shirley McKie.

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in the light of the evidence presented by BBC Frontline Scotland in the case of Shirley McKie, it will now make a full apology and financial restitution to Shirley McKie for any suffering and trauma she has experienced as a result of her investigation and prosecution.

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to restore public confidence in the science of fingerprint identification, given the criticism by recognised international experts of the fingerprint work of the Scottish Criminal Records Office.

Mr Jim Wallace: I refer the member to the reply I gave to question S1W-6949. HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary's inspection will include an examination of Shirley McKie’s case.

Local Government

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether a Direction (19B notice), rather than a Direction (19A notice), should have been served on North Lanarkshire Council Direct Labour Organisation.

Mr Frank McAveety: North Lanarkshire Council was served a 19A Notice on 1 July 1998 and a 19B Notice on 1 June 1998. The first required the council to explain the reasons for the deficit in its DLO and what remedial action it proposed. The second was the Secretary of State’s response to the council’s reply.

Local Government

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to rescind the Direction (19A notice) served on North Lanarkshire Council Direct Labour Organisation with immediate effect in the light of the conversion of its £4.8 million deficit to a predicted £1 million profit in the current financial year and what contribution the DLO’s workforce has made to the changed position.

Mr Frank McAveety: No. The Direction will be reviewed when the delivery of North Lanarkshire’s Business Plan for recovery is complete.

Local Government Finance

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much it expects will be raised in non-domestic rates in 1999-2000 and in 2000-01, in real terms.

Mr Jack McConnell: Based on the most recent information available, it is estimated that around £1,500.163 million will be raised in non-domestic rates for 1999-2000. We estimate that £1,550 million will be raised in 2000-01, the same in real terms as 1999-2000 after taking into account expected losses from appeals and transitional relief.

Local Government Finance

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the Rate Support Grant for local government was in 1999-2000 and what it will be in 2000-01, in real terms.

Mr Jack McConnell: RSG is one element of aggregate external finance (AEF), the total central government grant available to local authorities. AEF allocations will increase for 1999-2000 and 2000-01 from £5,331.557 million to £5,344.734 million, also in real terms.

  RSG is the balancing factor that makes up each council’s share of AEF after specific grants and non-domestic rate income have been allocated. Non-domestic rate income is forecast to increase by up to £190 million in 2000-01 causing a corresponding drop in RSG. Revenue support grant (RSG) for these two years, expressed in real terms using the March 2000 GDP Deflators with base year 1998-99, is therefore £3,443.140 million and £3,252.191 million respectively. Such savings in RSG will remain in the Departmental Expenditure Limit as a provision to cover requirements for additional RSG arising from the impact of NDR appeals, and for other adjustments.

Local Government Finance

Mr David Davidson (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will supply projections, for the next five years, of actual non-domestic rate payments in each local authority area in Scotland including comparisons with the payments which would have been expected if the UK unified scheme had continued to be applied and with the projected net payments in respect of comparable premises in the rest of the UK.

Mr Jack McConnell: Five-year projections by local authority area are not held centrally. In both Scotland and England the rate poundage for 2000-01 was set with a view to maintaining the total tax take in real terms. A paper showing how the Scottish Executive calculated the rate poundage and poundage comparisons between Scotland and England is available from SPICe. Comparable properties, north and south of the border, starting from the same position, which experience the average uplift at revaluation, should pay the same. Any variations will be due to either sectoral or local conditions.

Local Government Finance

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list all the task forces, working groups, review groups, action groups and similar committees relating to local government finance established by the Minister for Finance since 6 May 1999.

Mr Jack McConnell: Since 6 May 1999 I have set up the following groups relating to local government finance:

  the Strategic Issues Joint Working Group;

  the "It Pays to Pay" implementation working group; and

  the Deprivation Review Steering Group.

National Lottery Awards

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much each parliamentary constituency received in lottery funding for the last year for which figures are available.

Mr Sam Galbraith: The amount of lottery funding received by parliamentary constituency during the 12 months to 31 December 1999 is as follows:

  


Constituency 


Amount (£)




Aberdeen Central


702,290 




Aberdeen North


901,741 




Aberdeen South


38,505 




Airdrie & Shotts


464,740 




Angus


1,126,507 




Argyll & Bute


1,483,290 




Ayr


641,494 




Banff & Buchan


312,289 




Caithness, Sutherland & Easter 
Ross


1,432,524 




Carrick, Cumnock & Doon Valley


369,107 




Central Fife


223,553 




Clydebank & Milngavie


302,852 




Clydesdale


3,543,253 




Coatbridge & Chryston


220,621 




Cumbernauld & Kilsyth


763,986 




Cunninghame North


811,149 




Cunninghame South


556,482 




Dumbarton


415,807 




Dumfries


1,006,490 




Dundee East


317,254 




Dundee West


596,273 




Dunfermline East


150,089 




Dunfermline West


532,057 




East Kilbride


130,473 




East Lothian


2,104,878 




Eastwood


148,515 




Edinburgh Central


6,027,193 




Edinburgh East & Musselburgh


2,318,536 




Edinburgh North & Leith


1,495,753 




Edinburgh Pentlands


630,009 




Edinburgh South


611,536 




Edinburgh West


781,262 




Falkirk East


896,763 




Falkirk West


842,305 




Galloway & Upper Nithsdale


1,177,049 




Glasgow Anniesland


1,375,066 




Glasgow Baillieston


246,216 




Glasgow Cathcart


898,071 




Glasgow Govan


548,381 




Glasgow Kelvin


5,977,378 




Glasgow Maryhill


624,651 




Glasgow Pollok


133,095 




Glasgow Rutherglen


308,012 




Glasgow Shettleston


1,256,235 




Glasgow Springburn


286,462 




Gordon


370,131 




Greenock & Inverclyde


1,347,344 




Hamilton North & Bellshill


64,965 




Hamilton South


472,122 




Inverness East, Nairn & Lochaber


1,608,783 




Kilmarnock & Loudoun


1,917,246 




Kirkcaldy


1,354,966 




Linlithgow


627,262 




Livingston


931,738 




Midlothian


1,080,757 




Moray


1,624,507 




Motherwell & Wishaw


1,695,370 




North East Fife


557,361 




North Tayside


1,007,063 




Ochil


3,545,518 




Orkney & Shetland


935,093 




Paisley North


1,207,914 




Paisley South


912,036 




Perth


1,120,419 




Ross, Skye & Inverness West


1,320,647 




Roxburgh & Berwickshire


1,057,847 




Stirling


1,501,671 




Strathkelvin & Bearsden


297,346 




Tweeddale, Ettrick & Lauderdale


2,631,941 




West Aberdeenshire & Kincardine


535,287 




West Renfrewshire


2,718,141 




Western Isles


2,203,241 




Constituency Not Indicated


6,491 




Total Amount Awarded 


80,383,399

Parliamentary Questions

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects to give a substantive answer to question S1W-5202 lodged on 9 March 2000.

Mr Sam Galbraith: PQ S1W-5202 was answered on 23 May 2000.

Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Bill

David McLetchie (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-5060 by Mr Jack McConnell on 23 March 2000 and in the light of the Presiding Officer’s ruling that the terms and effects of the Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Bill do require a financial resolution to be moved under rule 9.12 of the Parliament’s Standing Orders, whether it now intends to lodge the necessary motion to allow such a resolution to be passed.

Mr Jack McConnell: The Executive are considering the financial implications of the Bill and will decide whether or not to give notice of a motion proposing a Financial Resolution in due course.

Public Holidays

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has carried out, or intends to carry out, any review of the economic impact of the current patterns of local and public holidays in Scotland.

Mr Jim Wallace: No such review has been conducted or is planned.

Registers of Scotland

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make a statement about the targets it expects the Registers of Scotland Executive Agency to achieve in the financial year 2000-01.

Angus MacKay: I have set the Registers of Scotland the following key targets for 2000-01:

  to achieve a return of 6% on net capital employed over the three-year period ending 31 March 2001;

  to continue the Land Register extension programme by preparing for the transfer of the County of Midlothian on 1 April 2001;

  to maintain and enhance customer service through retention of the Charter Mark; by achieving a 97% rating for overall customer care and by processing 95% of all other enquiries in compliance with the Registers of Scotland Customer Service Policy;

  to achieve turnaround times:

  - averaging 35, but not exceeding 50 working days for Sasine Writs;

  - averaging 40, but not exceeding 55 working days for Dealings with Whole; and

  - not exceeding 200 working days for 65% of Domestic First Registrations;

  to reduce the standard production cost index by 1.5% by 31 March 2001 from its base at 31 March 1999;

  to launch Registers Direct by 31 July 2000 and sign up at least 250 organisations to this service this year;

  to achieve a registration accuracy of at least 98% during 2000-01.

Sport

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what types of organisation are eligible to take part in the World Corporate Games in Aberdeen in July 2000.

Rhona Brankin: I understand that the games are open to commercial organisations including multi-national and national companies and local businesses.

Sport

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many competitors will take part in the World Corporate Games in Aberdeen in July 2000.

Rhona Brankin: I understand that some 10,000 competitors are expected to participate in the World Corporate Games.

Telecommunications

Dr Sylvia Jackson (Stirling) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with telecommunications companies regarding the introduction of planning controls following the publication of the Stewart Report and the report of the Transport and the Environment Committee.

Sarah Boyack: While the timescale for initial deployment of the network infrastructure is a commercial matter for the third generation operators, Scottish Executive officials met with representatives of the industry on Thursday 25 May to gather information about the likely scale, nature and timescale of their future development programmes.

Transport

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to introduce a series of seminars, similar to those run by the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions on methods of school travel in order to give advice on the promotion of walking, cycling and public transport for all types of schools.

Sarah Boyack: The Scottish Executive intends to organise an awareness seminar or seminars, similar to those being run by the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, on school travel as a follow up to the guidance I launched in December on How to Run Safer Routes to School .

Transport

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive (a) what steps it has taken to facilitate the reintroduction of a tram network in Edinburgh, (b) whether it has met the owners of the New Edinburgh Tramways Company (NETco) and whether it will provide details of any meetings and (c) whether it will provide funding to NETco in the light of their proposals to reintroduce trams to Edinburgh and to provide details of any funding packages that it might offer.

Sarah Boyack: This is a commercial venture and its success will be dependent upon demand for the service. Before NETCo can proceed it will have to secure the appropriate parliamentary powers and permissions.

  Scottish Executive officials met with representatives of NETCo on 10 April to discuss this project. NETCo has emphasised that the project’s initial phase would not require public funding.

Voluntary Sector

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether Lothian Health Board has followed the principles and spirit of the Scottish Compact and policy guidance from the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities on funding to voluntary organisations with regard to its future support of Milestone House and the Waverley Care Trust.

Iain Gray: Lothian Health Board fully supports and follows the principles and spirit of the CoSLA guidance in all its dealings with the voluntary sector. In relation to the Waverley Care Trust, Lothian Health Board is participating in a joint review with the Trust and the City of Edinburgh Council of the services provided by the Trust, including those at Milestone House. The review is due to be completed in the near future.

Water Authorities

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much capital expenditure was approved by the Water Industry Commissioner for each of 1998-99, 1999-2000, 2000-01, 2001-02, to identify how much of that expenditure should be met by (a) external finance limits and (b) charges on consumers in each year; and how much would have had to be paid by consumers in each of these years to service debt, had the water authorities been permitted to fund their investment by conventional public sector borrowing.

Sarah Boyack: The Commissioner’s assessment of investment requirements underlying his advice on charges is set out in that advice, which has been published. The external finance limits (EFLs) for the relevant years were set out in written answers S1W-1902 and S1W-3565. EFLs are set in the light of both the overall public expenditure situation and the need to avoid an excessive build up of debt that would fall on future generations.

Water Charges

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average increase in water charges for 2000-01 is as (a) a percentage of the rise in the state pension and (b) a percentage of average household income.

Sarah Boyack: This information is all in the public domain.

Young Offenders

Maureen Macmillan (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to support projects such as the Venture Trust at Applecross, Wester Ross, as an alternative to custodial sentences for young offenders.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Executive is considering how the current range of options for non-custodial sentences for young offenders might be developed as part of the present Review of Youth Crime. The possibility of funding the Venture Trust at Applecross, to provide programmes that could be used to support probation and other community disposals, is one of the options under consideration.

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Recycling

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer what percentage of recycled materials is contained in Scottish Parliament headed paper.

Sir David Steel: The Scottish Parliament headed paper is made from 100% recycled materials.

Scottish Parliament Logo

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer whether the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body intends to extend the use of the new Scottish Parliament logo to the signage and other materials relating to the corporate identity of the Parliament and what the associated costs of such a move are likely to be.

Sir David Steel: The SPCB has agreed that existing stocks of materials should be used before new stocks incorporating the logo are commissioned. It has also agreed that signage should only be replaced incorporating the logo as and when necessary.

Scottish Parliament Logo

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer what the typesetting, printing and other implementation costs of the new Scottish Parliament logo were, and what costs are expected to be incurred in relation to the disposal and wastage of unused stationary and other items which do not include the logo.

Sir David Steel: The typesetting cost for introducing the new Scottish Parliament logo was £120. There are no incremental costs in printing the new logo, as the cost is the same as the printing of the original design.

  In line with the SPCB decision that there should be no wastage of materials, MSPs and Parliament staff have been asked to use up existing stocks of stationery and other materials before ordering fresh supplies which incorporate the logo, and this is being monitored within the Parliament estate.